Zones of Privacy: How Private?

All the forces of a technological age... operate to narrow the area of and facilitate intrusions into it. In modern terms, the capacity to maintain and support this enclave of private life marks the difference between a democratic and a totalitarian society. (1) LAW as a normative tool was invented to maintain order in society; laws, however, continually evolve to accommodate changing times and respond to society's needs. In the information age, ideas and news become accessible in an instant (2) Along with the ease of the flow of information, the system of connections and the collection of data have greatly improved, benefiting not only human relations, but the development of the economy as well. Along with the upside, however, is the downside of these new technological advances--from the inconvenience caused by prank calls, to the more serious problems of harassment, scams, and acts of terror. Society must respond with measures deemed appropriate, reasonable, and efficacious, to keep abreast of technological progress. This article discusses the constitutional and legal implications engendered by the collision between the to individual and the exercise of the state's police power pursuant to the demands of public interest and state security under Philippine law. We touch on the tension between rights and public interest embedded in the various laws enacted to meet new threats, and elaborates on this tension as the courts balance competing interests in the following legislation: (a) Human Security Act of 2007, (3) (b) Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, (4) (c) Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012, (5) (d) Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, (6) (e) Data Privacy Act of 2012, (7) (f) the proposed national centralized identification system, and (g) the proposed registration of prepaid mobile phones. I. Right to Privacy Under Philippine Law: A Survey of Jurisprudence The to means the right to be let alone (8) and is the beginning of all freedoms. (9) Discussing the origin of the to privacy, Pavesich v. New England Life Insurance Co. held that the to has its foundation in natural law and the instinct of nature. (10) In Philippine law, the concept of is enshrined in the Constitution and is regarded as the to be free from unwarranted exploitation of one's person or from intrusion into one's private activities in such a way as to cause humiliation to a person's ordinary sensibilities. (11) It has been described as the most comprehensive of rights and the most valued by civilized men. (12) A. Privacy--an Independent Right In Morfe v. Mutuc, the Philippine Supreme Court affirmed that the to exists independently of its identification with liberty, and in itself fully deserving of constitutional protection. (13) Disini v. Secretary of Justice, (14) citing Sabio v. Gordon, (15) also recognized the importance of the different zones of protected under Philippine law. This could also be derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which mandates that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy and everyone has the to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. (16) The Philippine Constitution guarantees the against unreasonable searches and seizure, as well as the to of communication and correspondence. (17) It expressly guarantees the against self-incrimination, (18) liberty of abode, (19) to due process, (20) and the to and freedom of association. (21) 1. Situational, Informational, and Decisional Privacy The concept of has, through time, greatly evolved, with technological advancements playing an influential role. This evolution was briefly recounted in former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno's speech, The Common Right to Privacy, where he explained the three strands of the to privacy: (1) locational or situational privacy; (2) informational privacy; and (3) decisional privacy. …